Say Something
by Rivendell101
Summary: {Say something, I'm giving up on you} Because sometimes the hardest part of all is letting go of the person you care about most. AU NaLu


**Say Something**

**{Say something, I'm giving up on you}**

"Lucy," I whispered her name lightly, so quietly that I could barely even hear it. "Please," I begged. "Just say something. I'm starting to give up on you." I winced as my own words flooded through my head. How could I be doing this? How could I just give up on my best friend?

It shouldn't be like this. She shouldn't be lying on a hospital bed, barley breathing. She shouldn't be hurt. I never should have let her get hurt. I would gladly switch places with her, but I knew that she would hate me for it. She would hate me so much…

I reached out and grabbed her hand in mine before I could stop myself. I had been avoiding touching her for the past few weeks that she had been hurt, I didn't want to do anything that could make things worse. I missed her touch though, it was so hard being near her, and yet never really being close enough.

Her hand was cold and so pale that I could see the blue veins snaking across her skin. I brushed my thumb across her knuckles before raising her hand to my face, just barley grazing her soft skin with my lips.

_"Everyone needs a hero, Natsu. You just have to find _the one_."_

I still wasn't sure what Lucy meant by that. I didn't know what she was trying to tell me. Did she mean that everyone needed to be saved from the enemy at some point? Or… did she mean that a person's hero was the one that saved them from themselves; they were _the one_ that you care about most, _the one_ you couldn't live without?

I held Lucy's hand just a little bit tighter. "I'll be _the one_, if you want me to," I murmured against her skin, pressing a light kiss against the back of her hand. I could be her hero, but only if she still wanted me to be there in the future. She was—is my hero. She would always _be_ my hero. No matter what she would be my hero. She had held me back in Edolas when I probably would have gotten myself killed if she hadn't. She had refused to leave me on Tenrou Island even though it had only gotten her hurt. And when we fought Jackal she went after him and told Wendy to help me, knowing that someone had to do something.

She didn't know it, but she had saved me over and over again without even trying to. She made me stronger, in her own way. Maybe not physically, but she gave me a reason to keep going. She was my resolve.

_"I don't want...to run away by myself... because no matter what...I'd rather be together with everyone..."_

Together with everyone, huh? A small smile slid onto my face, only to disappear a second later when I realized that "together" might not happen again. I didn't want to think about her never waking up, but it was still a possibility. She was barely breathing; Wendy and Porlyusica had done everything that they could. Even Chelia had helped, but she wasn't doing any better.

Together…

I tilted my head and kissed the inside of Lucy's wrist, feeling the reassuring pulsing telling me that she _is_ _still_ alive. Her heart _is still_ beating. Always. She's still too young to die.

The only thing that I was able to do was keep talking to her. I didn't even know if she could hear me or not. "Anywhere, I would have followed you anywhere, Lucy." Together; always. I sighed and dropped my head down to rest next to her stomach. "Lucy, please say something." _I'm giving up on you_.

I had never felt so small before, not even when Igneel had disappeared or Lisanna had "died". There was nothing that I could have done to prevent either of those things from happening. I was too young to really understand how long forever really was. I had been lucky. Lisanna had come back and I still have hope that I can find Igneel.

Lucy… Lucy was—is, she still is, she isn't dead, she can't die—slipping away from me, and I wasn't sure if she would come back to me. I wasn't sure if she _could_ come back to me.

I glared at the stark white walls harshly. I had never liked hospitals. They were all white light and nowhere else to go. I didn't like being in them myself, but I hated when it was someone I care about in one. I didn't mind being hurt, not if it meant that someone else in the guild wasn't. Not if it meant that _Lucy_ wasn't hurt.

I could deal with my pain, but not hers.

It was over my head, it was so far over my head. I was in too deep and I wasn't sure what else to do. I wasn't smart like Lucy or Levy; I didn't know how to figure these emotions out. I didn't know if I could be strong enough to go on living without her. I wasn't sure what to do.

"Lucy, please help me," I pleaded, a sob racking through my body. I tried to fight it back, she didn't need to wake up and see me crying. "I don't know what to do," I told her softly, squeezing her hand just a little bit tighter. "I know nothing at all."

Lucy didn't make a move besides the rising and falling of her chest. There was no twitching fingers or eyes flickering beneath their lids. There was nothing. There had been nothing for days.

A shaky sigh escaped me and I shivered even though I wasn't cold. I traced circles across the smooth skin of her hand, kissing her cold finger tips.

If this was what losing your heart was like then I never wanted to go through it again.

Lucy and I… we weren't dating. I didn't think we were anyway. I had never been very good with relationships, but I knew that I cared about Lucy more than I had ever cared about another person before, and that had to count for something. She made me feel warm, which was saying some considering that I was a fire mage, I didn't get hot under the collar like other people did. When I had talked to Gray and Erza about what I was feeling Gray had laughed and Erza had blushed. It was actually Mira and, surprisingly, Laxus that had explained things to me.

I pressed Lucy's limp hand against my chest, where my heart is. "You know," I whispered to her sleeping—I tried so hard to pretend that she was only sleeping—form. "Without you around I will stumble and fall," I told her. "I—" a sob ripped out of my chest and I stopped talking. My heart felt like it had just leaped into my throat and I was choking on it. I managed to swallow the lump back down, tears spilling down my face. "—I'm still learning to love, Lucy." I shook my head. I kept speaking when she didn't answer me. "I'm just starting to crawl."

I wasn't sure when I fell in love with her. It wasn't when we first met; I was indifferent to her then. It was recently, sometime between the S Class Exams and when Tartarus attacked. It might have been when I lost her to Future Rogue, but I wasn't sure. All I knew was that she meant more to me than anything else, and I would be damned if she left me like this. She was my best friend and my partner; she couldn't just leave me so easily.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you in time," I told her. It had been my fault that she had been hurt. I hadn't been paying attention to what was going on and by the time I did start paying attention it had been too late. I had turned around too late and by the time I got over to her she had already been ripped into. The creature we were supposed to fight had vanished and Lucy was on the ground bleeding. "When you wake up I'm not letting you leave my sight." I didn't say "if" I didn't want to think about an "if", it was always "when". "I'll follow you anywhere, if you'll let me." There was no response. "Lucy, please say something." _I'm giving up on you_.

I kissed the back of her hand, rubbing my thumb across her palm. "I nearly killed Gray yesterday," I mused. "He told me that I should just forget about you, you aren't coming back," I licked my suddenly dry lips. "I got angry, told him it wasn't true." A growl tore out of the back of my throat. 'Then he said that you were pretty much dead anyway, you didn't matter anymore…" I trailed off, feeling anger course through me. I tried to ignore, I didn't need to blow up in a hospital, not when Lucy could get hurt. "I saw red after he said it, it took both Gajeel and Laxus to pull me off of him," I finished.

_I stared at the still full beer mug in front of me, tracing it with my fingers, half glaring at it in disgust. I wasn't going to drink it. Not while Lucy was in the hospital. Macao had told me that the beer would "drown it all out", but I didn't want to forget, I didn't _need_ anything to numb the pain. The pain I was feeling was _nothing_ compared to what Lucy had to be feeling. I could see it in her eyes after the creature had nearly ripped her in half; its sharp claws had torn through her stomach as if the skin was nothing. She had passed out because of shock and blood loss. There had been a lot of blood, too much blood._

_I never moved my gaze from the dark liquid in front of me, not even when someone slid into the seat next to me; I already knew who it was anyway. "What do you want, Gray?" I snarled at him, a clear warning in my tone._

_He ignored me. "Why are you so persistent?" he asked me, not giving me the chance to answer before continuing. "She's not coming back you know. You might as well just give up_—_forget about her before you make things harder on yourself."_

_I growled at him, sounding like some sort of animal. The glass in my hand shattered and cold liquid flew everywhere as the Guild went silent. "Fuck you, Gray," I spat at him, my gaze slicing through the air to connect with his. He flinched back, but didn't stand to leave. "You know that that's not true. Lucy's stronger than that," I stated proudly. "You can go to hell for doubting her just like that."_

_Gray's hands clenched into fists hard enough to draw blood and he started to shake with rage. "Dammit, Natsu," Gray hissed at me. "It's been two months. She isn't coming back, she's pretty much dead already, it doesn't matter anymore," he barked at me. "You need to accept that."_

_I roared at him and lunged, knocking the two of us away from the table we were at and onto the floor. I sent an unforgiving fist straight into his face, never relenting. I pinned Gray to the ground, not even giving him a chance to defend himself as I hit him over and over again. This was not one of our normal brawls. I was pouring all of my frustration and anger out on Gray and I didn't plan on stopping._

_There was blood smearing across the ground and then arms were wrapping around my torso and someone was hauling me back, away from Gray. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Laxus on one side of me. "Calm down, Salamander," another voice said from my other side._

_I lurched forward, trying to rip myself away from the arms that surrounded me. "Let me go," I snarled at the other two Dragon Slayers. "He deserves this," I told them harshly, tears springing up in the corners of my eyes. A sob tore itself out of my throat. "He deserves this."_

_"I know," one of them whispered. "But she wouldn't want this."_

I lightly ran my finger across her jaw line and over her lips. "I won't apologize to him," I whispered, shaking my head almost violently. "Not after what he said." I sighed heavily and bowed my head. "I'm sorry. I know you don't like it when we fight." I stroked my thumb back and forth across her cheek. "I promise I'll work on that once you wake up." My words sounded hollow, empty of all meaning. I was starting to hear a false tone in my voice, like I didn't really believe what I was saying.

I winced. She _had_ to wake up. I needed her to wake up. We had been through way too much for her to just leave me. I wasn't going to have any of that, if she was going to go out then so would I. I didn't think I could live without her.

A tear ran down my cheek, dripping onto the floor beneath me. Another one followed after it, and then another. "I'm so sorry, Lucy," I cried, violent sobs racking my body. "I'm so sorry that I could stop this from happening." I was ashamed of crying, but there was nothing that I could do to stop them, and I knew that Lucy would never judge me for crying. Crying wasn't a sign of weakness, it was a sign of emotion, of caring. It showed that I care about her. I swallowed down my pride, letting the tears run as freely as they wanted to. "I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you."

_"Lucy, get up," I pleaded, shaking her limp body. "Lucy, please get up," I begged. She wasn't moving, I couldn't even tell if she was breathing. I moved my hand to her neck, blindly feeling for a pulse that wasn't there. "Come on, Lucy. Open your eyes."_

_I knew that I should cauterize the four long gazes on her stomach. I needed to stop the bleeding. I should have done it, but my hands were shaking too badly and I couldn't even think. Everything had happened so quickly, I hadn't even seen the beast coming and now… It was just like the Grand Magic Games, I hadn't been able to stop it from happening then either. And if she died this time… there would be no coming back._

_"Come on, breath," I growled at her limp form, hands pressing down harder against the slashes. "You need to breath." I had picked the wrong mission to go on without Erza, Gray, and Wendy. I thought it would be easy, Lucy said it wasn't. I guess I was wrong._

_I pressed my mouth against hers, breathing air into her crushed lungs. One day I would have to thank Mira for teaching me CPR. I never thought I would need it, but it just shows how much I knew._

_I continued a series of compressions and breaths for what seemed like hours, but were probably only minutes. Happy sat silently next to me, too shocked to do anything but watch Lucy slowly fade away._

_I was about to press my mouth against hers once again when she gasped, her upper body lurching off of the ground. I pushed her back down as gently as possible, trying not to hurt her anymore than she already was. "Lucy, calm down," I whispered to her, cupping her small face in one of my larger hands. "You're okay," I told her softly. "You're okay."_

_Her eyes darted around frantically and her head started to loll to the side, but I drug my other hand away from her stomach, forcing her to look at me. She needed to calm down. I needed to calm her down. "Lucy, look at me," I demanded, nearly recoiling at the harsh tone in my voice. I pushed it away though; I didn't have time to worry about yelling at her._

_Her eyes locked with mine and she stilled, but there was still panic flashing across her face. "What…" She started to say something, but her words became a pain filled cry almost immediately. "I…" She flinched and I shushed her._

_"You have to hold on, okay?" I asked her. She nodded briskly. "I'm going to get you out of here and we're going to go back to the guild." I slowly slipped my arms around her, bringing her close to my chest as I stood up. I glanced at her abdomen, wincing as more blood seeped out of her. The flow was becoming more sluggish, but I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It wasn't as bad as I had thought it was, but if she didn't get help soon… I shook my head, cauterizing it wouldn't have stopped the internal bleeding anyway, only the external, and her organs may heave been damaged. Her lungs were anyway, she had several broken ribs and one of them must have punctured a lung, judging by how she was breathing._

_Lucy wheezed as I lifted her into the air. "Mission?" she asked me, her head falling down to rest against my chest. I could feel every breath she took against the side of my neck, which gave, me some reassurance that she would be okay._

_I shook my head, cradling her against me as gently as I could. "It doesn't matter," I told her. "You're more important than any mission." I started walking back the way we came from; luckily we were still close to the town we were staying in. They had a small hospital there and hopefully they could help Lucy. _

_Happy glanced at me and then Lucy, a look of pure determination on his face. He didn't say anything to me as he leaped into the air, his wings sprouting out of his back. He disappeared before I could say anything to him, but I knew that I didn't need to. He was going to get help._

_Lucy coughed and sucked in a shaky breath that sounded painful. I glanced down and winced as I noticed the crimson droplets staining the front of my shirt and dripping down her chin. She was staring intently at my chest, eyes glazed over. There was a frown on her pretty face and she swallowed thickly. "Fairy Tail_—_" she started._

_"Wouldn't be the same without you," I finished softly, kissing the top of her head. "We don't abandon our missions because of our pride in Fairy Tail, we don't want to dishonor our Guild," I told her as gently as I could. "Our Guild wouldn't be anything without our friends though, and that's more important than any mission." She hummed lightly so I kept talking. "You're my friend, Lucy, and I'll be damned if I abandon you."_

_Neither of us spoke again for several minutes and I was beginning to think that she had finally succumbed to the pull of unconsciousness. It wouldn't really have surprised me if she had; she had lost a lot of blood and was probably in shock. I knew that she was alive though, I could feel her breath against my throat and her chest rising and falling against mine. I closed my eyes and listened to her heartbeat, wincing as I noticed just how faint it was. _

_"Thank you," Lucy whispered softly, scaring me half to death. There was a patient, gentle tone in her voice that I recognized as the one she only ever used when speaking to me._

_I smiled down at her gently. Her eyes were closed so I knew that she couldn't see me. "For what?" I asked her tenderly. She smiled without opening her eyes and placed her right palm over my heart._

_"Being you," she breathed out. Before I could say anything back to her she convulsed and went limp in my arms._

_"Lucy?" I shook her lightly, panic gnawing at my insides. I jostled her again. "Shit," I mumbled, pulling her closer to me while speeding up. I needed to hurry._

"I love you," I whispered to her resting form. "I love you so much that it hurts sometimes." I could hardly believe how honest I was being. It was hard for me to really love someone after what happened with Igneel, him disappearing and all. Then I got close to Lisanna and she "died". I smiled bitterly; it was like I burnt everything I touched. "I'm hurting right now, Lucy." I grasped her small hand in my own, pressing a kiss against her palm. "I'm hurting now and I know you don't want me to. So you need to wake up, move, _say something_."

I stopped talking, my jaw slamming shut with a loud snap. My hands clenched into fists and I could feel myself shaking. It sounded like I was—

The heart monitor flat lined.

—saying goodbye.

I couldn't breathe. It felt like I had just been punched in the stomach by Laxus or Gildarts. My throat felt tight, like my heart had jumped up and lodged itself there. I could only sit there in shock as doctors rushed into the room, surrounding Lucy on all sides. I didn't realize that I was being pushed out of the room until my back hit the wall.

This was not happening.

"Lucy," I murmured, my eyes springing open wide, panic consuming me like a raging fire. "Lucy," I screamed, finally fighting back against the hands pressing against me. They couldn't take me away from her! Not now! "Lucy, say something!" I shouted, a strangled cry leaving my mouth. My ears were ringing and I couldn't see because of the tears streaming down my face.

"Say something!"

**{You're the one that I love, and I'm saying goodbye}**

**AN: I'm so mean to these two. This is the second time I've killed off Lucy so far. And the third time she's been hurt.**

**Please leave a review guys, they really make my day.**


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